Category: News
Posted by Eric Henrickson (The Detroit News) on Tue, Aug 9, 2011 at 10:00 AMGeek Watch has moved
We're updating our blog software and servers, and Geek Watch has moved to a new URL:
http://blogs.detroitnews.com/geekwatch/
With better categorizing and tagging, the new Geek Watch is more searchable and, hopefully, more useful to you, the reader.
So please join Mike and me over at the new site.
Category: Movies
Posted by Eric Henrickson (The Detroit News) on Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 10:07 AMFirst look at Henry Cavill as Superman
A day after announcing Laurence Fishburne will play Daily Planet editor Perry White, Warner Bros. has released the first official image of star Henry Cavill as Superman.
And I'm not disappointed. He looks great. The scaly costume, on the other hand, looks kinda weird. But Cavill shows he can definitely look the part.
Other big names in the cast include Kevin Costner and Diane Lane and Pa and Ma Kent, Russell Crowe and Julia Ormand as Jor-El and Lara, Amy Adams as Lois Lane and Michael Shannon as General Zod.
I can't wait. Please don't suck.
Category: Television
Posted by Eric Henrickson (The Detroit News) on Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 7:30 AMHBO documentary goes behind the masks of real-life "Superheroes"
"Superheroes" (9 p.m. Monday on HBO) -- There's a sincerity I wasn't expecting behind all the real-life superheroes whose stories are chronicled in the new documentary "Superheroes," which will be debuting Monday on HBO.
Yes, superheroes are real, and they're patrolling cities around the world to help folks the police seemingly ignore -- or just to give the police a helping hand. They don't have superpowers, of course, but they do have a drive to make their cities a better place to live.
Michael Barnett's documentary follows a handful of them across the country, including Z and T.S.A.F., two former Detroiters who are part of the New York Initiative in Brooklyn.
The heroes interviewed have day jobs ranging from security guard, to teacher to tattoo artist. Some have extensive martial arts training, one is just his last class away from full EMT certification, and others just hide pepper spray and stun guns in their costumes.
"Having superpowers does not make you a superhero," says Mr. Xtreme of San Diego, Calif. "I think it's having super motivation and super deeds."
At first glance, it's easy to dismiss these folks as nutjobs. After all, Mr. Xtreme gives up his apartment to live in his van (to save his money for equipment), and Master Legend likes his beer a bit too much. And to another extreme, Dark Guardian takes on drug dealers directly at parks in New York.
But the documentary does a great job of showing the real good they're doing. On his rounds, Master Legend passes out food to the homeless, and his Team Justice is a registered nonprofit that does a big Christmas toy drive. On camera, Dark Guardian gets one drug dealer to take off. And the New York Initiative's Zimmer, the one studying to be an EMT, is able to help a man in a minor hit-and-run accident and later convinces a drunk driver to hand over his keys and sleep it off in his truck.
"Taking the risks I do,it's about making a difference," Dark Guardian says. "The costume is a symbol of somebody who's going to stand up and make a difference."
They may be small things, but they can mean a lot to the people they affect.
Like many comic book heroes, some of these real-life superheroes have traumatic pasts. If you take their stories at face value, some came from abusive homes or were the victims of violent crimes. Some were criminals themselves and had a moment of epiphany.
"I've hurt enough people where I feel like I need to give back," says the New York Initiative's Lucid, who admits to selling drugs in the past.
And it seems the biggest villain they're out there to fight is apathy, using their costumes to bring awareness to the plights of those they help. Zimmer and Mr. Xtreme, on opposite coasts, both mention finding inspiration in the story of Kitty Genovese, a woman who was murdered in New York in 1964. Newspapers at the time reported many people saw or heard at least something, if not the attack itself, but never acted.
Barnett doesn't just talk to the heroes. He also brings in some experts.
Even comics legend Stan Lee has a few things to say about the phenomenon. But the ones with the most weight are San Diego police officer Lt. Andra Brown and psychologist and author Robin S. Rosenberg. Brown talks about the heroes' lack of training and how much trouble they could get themselves into. She loses me a bit, though, when she calls the practice of bait patrolling (putting yourself out as an enticing victim with the rest of the team on standby) potentially illegal "entrapment" when it sounds exactly like the sting operations police routinely carry out.
Rosenberg sees the positive side, calling it a gift that can turn trauma into motivation to do good.
If there's one thing the documentary is missing, it's information on how people can get involved. The press materials that accompanied my preview DVD mention a vast online network of real-life superheroes, but it's not mentioned onscreen at all.
It looks like there are a few main websites where real-life superheroes gather online. Check out the Real Life Super Hero Project, www.reallifesuperheroes.org and www.worldsuperheroregistry.com. Michigan heroes mentioned include Foxfire and Captain Jackson.
"I think of late we've been losing our heroes," says Life, who also helps the homeless in New York.
It's great that some people are stepping up to fill the gap.
Just stay safe.
Category: Random thoughts
Posted by Eric Henrickson (The Detroit News) on Wed, Aug 3, 2011 at 11:19 AMSan Diego co-splayers born to lipsynch 'Born This Way'
The Comics All Too Real blog posted this awesome video on Facebook this morning.
As the owner of three costumes worn at previous cons, I had to share here. I wish someone had done this last time I was co-splaying at San Diego a few years ago. Though I'm not sure there's a better song for it.
Review: 'Bad Island' is good reading
"Bad Island" by Doug TenNapel (Graphix) -- Following up his fun graphic novel "Ghostopolis," TenNapel presents a teen take on "Lost," with some "Swiss Family Robinson" and aliens thrown in for good measure.
It's not as engrossing or original as "Ghostopolis," but it's still a good read.
Angsty teen Reese is forced to go on a boating trip with his family: Dad Lyle, Mom Karen and little sister Janie (and her pet snake, Pickles). No one but Lyle is too excited, but off they go, hitting the high seas and getting caught in an unexpected storm.
They're shipwrecked on an uncharted desert isle, but this is no "Gilligan's Island." It's full of strange plants and creatures, and the skeleton of a long-dead explorer whose satchel contains a surprising bit of technology.
Meanwhile, a parallel story is being told in flashback, about some sort of living robots that fight aliens on behalf of a defenseless, peaceful race. The rebellious teen son of the robots' king is captured and spirited away when he doesn't listen to his father and stay out of the fight because he's too young.
How do these stories connect? You'll just have to read through to the end to find out.
In the interest of getting his ambitious story told in 219 pages, TenNapel takes some narrative shortcuts that wind up hurting the story a bit.
The characters of Reese and his family suffer most, barely scratching the surface of the dynamic that led them to the island. They have a nice growth arc while there, but it seems forced without context.
Also, they seem to accept the weird things about the island way too easily and don't take logical precautions when faced with the dangers they run into. It's certainly out of the ordinary to them, but they adapt more quickly than feels realistic in the interest of moving the plot forward.
But the positives definitely outweigh the negatives. It's a fun plot, to be sure. And TenNapel skillfully works in humor throughout, a lot of it revolving around Pickles. And there are some nice moments between Reese and Janie.
TenNapel is also a good artist. His faces are simple, but they have a lot of emotion, and he does some great shadow work. His coloring team does a great job enhancing his work. His critters are also pretty cool, and I love the organic and mechanical looks of the alien races.
Overall, TenNapel presents a nice bit of escapism. He's a real talent, and I can't wait to see what's next. GRADE: B-
Category: Movies
Posted by Eric Henrickson (The Detroit News) on Tue, Aug 2, 2011 at 10:59 AMWatch 'MST3K' guys in 'RiffTrax Live' event at local theaters
A while back, "Mystery Science Theater 3000" Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett went their own way with RiffTrax, doing essentially the same wisecracking thing with old B movies.
Now, they're doing it live, in a movie theater, so you can imagine yourself as one of those little shadows along the bottom of the screen.
"RiffTrax Live: Jack the Giant Killer" will be in select theaters 8 p.m. Aug. 17. Nelson, Murphy and Corbett will be in Nashville presenting their comedic commentary to the 1962 fantasy epic.
Metro Detroit theaters involved include Canton Cinema, Quality 16 in Ann Arbor, the AMC Livonia 20 and the Ann Arbor 20 in Ypsilanti.
Movie theater audiences will receive free digital goodies after the event including a downloadable short, avatars and a digital photo of the guys. A URL will be revealed on-screen for you to visit to get your free digital goodies after the live event.
For the full schedule, which could change, and to order advance tickets (prices vary by theater) visit the Fathom Events website.
From Fathom:
A perfect vehicle for the comedic RiffTrax treatment, 1962's Jack the Giant Killer was memorably described by The New York Times, which claimed "the acting is terrible, the dialogue is even worse." When beautiful Princess Elaine is kidnapped by a hideous giant, it is up to the resourceful farm boy, Jack, to rescue her from his evil clutches. But no sooner is she free than the villainous sorcerer Pendragon bewitches Jack's new love and locks her in his enchanted fortress. Now Jack must cross the ocean to brave dragons, two-headed ogres and an army of ghouls to save his damsel in distress.
Category: Anime
Posted by Eric Henrickson (The Detroit News) on Tue, Aug 2, 2011 at 7:30 AMFirst impression: 'Baka and Test: Summon the Beasts'
"Baka and Test: Summon the Beasts -- Season One" (Funimation) -- It's Pokemon in high school in this new comedy from Funimation. And while it has its amusements, it's lacking a certain spark that would really put it at the top of the pack.
Yoshii is a student at Fumizuki Academy, where the students are divided into six classes based on academic test scores. Class A has a plush classroom with personal laptops, a snack bar and more. Class F has broken tables, cushions that have lost their "cush" and drafty windows.
Yoshii and his friends aren't satisfied with their Class F surroundings, so they have the option of challenging other classes to a fight to get their stuff. But instead of fists or the athletic field, the school goes digital, and the students summon avatars to fight in their place. The avatars' strengths are also dependent on those test scores, but some have special abilities.
The central gang is a bunch of stock anime high-schoolers: the bossy girl, the slick guy, the dumb guy, the pervy photography guy, the hot girl, the guy voiced by a girl who gets jokes aimed at whether he's really a guy.
Poor Yoshii is the victim of way too much violence, most of it by his friend Minami (the "bossy girl"), so there's also a lot of annoying yelling. After the first couple bursts, neither have the comedic affect they're going for. I swear, I don't know how voice actors can work more than a year before losing their voices with all the yelling that goes on in anime.
One fun thing the series definitely has going for it, though, is the insane amount of crushes going on. Yoshii is the school's biggest idiot, but he's the clueless object of at least four. And they're not all from his 2-F classmates. There are others, too, and they're skillfully played for laughs and empathy.
Visually, the show is fine. It's nothing amazing, but it works for the show. Like several others these days, the backgrounds use a lot of dots. It's an interesting trend that adds a little flair without detracting.
Overall, the show seems pleasant enough and has some spunk (I watched the first four episodes), but it seems like it's often just going through the motions, recycling cliche storylines and dressing them up only minimally.
Still, if you're just looking for a bit of a laugh, it's a good rental.
Check out free episodes at the Funimation website.
Category: Gaming
Posted by Mike Neimoyer on Mon, Aug 1, 2011 at 7:30 AMReview: 'inFamous 2' - solid gameplay, great community creation tools
Continuing the story of Cole McGrath, inFamous 2 brings the city of New Orle- -- sorry, New Marais -- to life with phenomenal art design and some really fun platforming and combat. The storyline gets expanded, almost needlessly so in my opinion, as well. Unfortuantely, a few small problems can cause headaches for you as you work to try and defeat The Beast.
With a nod to the end of the first game, Cole starts this one with a nice set of abilities, and you can add to those by unlocking new ones. The unlock system is based upon how you defeat enemies or by performing certain actions, which encourages you to experiment in combat and explore your environment.
This means you can't rely on the same three or four moves all the time if you want to unlock more powerful attacks. Of them all, the Ionic Vortex, a street-clearing tornado, is one of my favorites. Being able to correctly line it up so that it takes out an entire enemy force at once makes me smile.
The combat is fun, but occasionally unbalanced, with the random horde of enemies sometimes hitting you in just the right sequence to keep you from fighting back or escaping, which is very frustrating. This is usually when I resorted to button-mashing in an attempt to gain a little breathing space.
Luckily, the melee combat in inFamous 2 is greatly improved from the first game, so you do have a (pardon the pun) fighting chance! Unfortunately, the camera positioning can cause a lot of problems, if you're meleeing, so be forewarned.
There are a ton of missions, side-quests and hidden items for you to collect. One of the coolest items is the ability to connect your game to the online world, and play side-missions that other players have created, or even create your own and upload it for others to play. Several of the player-created missions I tried were obviously simplistic first attempts, but some of them had a startling degree of planning and polish to them.
I look forward to playing more, as the community begins to harness the power of the creation system (much like the community created levels in Little Big Planet and storylines in City of Heroes). The player-created missions are clearly marked on the screen, to differentiate them from other side-quests, so you can easily avoid them if you wish.
The morality system in inFamous 2, unfortunately, doesn't doesn't have the same polish as the UGC (user generated content) component. I didn't feel like there was much of a difference between the two, other than Cole's powers shifting to blue (good) or red (evil). The biggest difference is, similar to the first game, how the surrounding civilians react to your presence.
You do get the opportunity to team up on occasion with other conduits (people with similar-style powers) whose powers are fire-based or ice-based. You'll also get the chance, at one point, to make a morality choice to absorb some of those powers, based upon your actions. However, they don't add much to the game, and so you can really play however you'd like.
I do admit, though, that some morality missions are hilarious (I mean, really, who HASN'T wanted to take out one of those street performers painted up in gold glitter and posing like statues? ... Or is that just me? )
There are two extremely different endings, based upon your actions, which is pretty much the only deciding factor for me, as I played, so I knew which ending I was going to be getting (and then replayed it again, later, so I could see the other ending).
All in all, if you're looking for a solid action platformer with some great combat, and don't mind a negligible morality system or the occasionally troublesome camera, give inFamous 2 a shot. You'll be pleased, I think.
Category: Gaming
Posted by Mike Neimoyer on Fri, Jul 29, 2011 at 2:21 PMNintendo 3DS pricedrop, free games for early buyers
Nintendo's dropping the price on the 3DS from $250 to $170 on Aug. 12. But, what if you're one of the early adopters who bought a 3DS prior to the price drop?
Never fear, Nintendo considers you an "Ambassador" and wants to give you 20 (yes, 20) free games. The titles include such classics as Super Mario Bros, the original Legend of Zelda, Donkey Kong Jr, and newer Gameboy Advance titles like Metroid Fusion, Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3, Mario Kart: Super Circuit and more.
To be eligible for the free games, you need to connect your handheld system to the Nintendo eShop via wifi at least once before Aug. 12. Once you do that, your system will be automatically registered for the Nintendo 3DS Ambassador program.
Details for the promotion can be found on the Nintendo site.
If you've been waiting to get a 3DS, this may be a great time to snag one, even before the price drop. If the average game price is $5-$8 each for the 20 games, that's between $100-$160 worth of games for only $70 if you purchase the unit now and register it with the eShop for the promotion.
Category: Giveaways
Posted by Eric Henrickson (The Detroit News) on Fri, Jul 29, 2011 at 7:30 AMWin 20th anniversary edition of 'The Crow'
It's hard to believe it's been two decades since Detroit-born James O'Barr's "The Crow" turned the comic world on its head.
Gallery Books this week released "The Crow: Special Edition," a collection of the cult classic with new art and new sequences from O'Barr (done by hand the way he first did the book, with no computers).
It's billed as a "20th anniversary" collection, but the first issue came out in 1989, so I'm not sure how they're doing their math.
But as O'Barr writes in a touching introduction, he started working on the book in 1981, so it's been 30 years in one way. O'Barr also tells the story behind "The Girl Who Was Shelly," his real-life girlfriend who was killed by a drunk driver. He also talks a bit about how much the death of Brandon Lee, who played the main character, Eric, in the movie version, affected him.
In the book, Eric and his fiancee Shelly are killed by a street gang, and Eric's spirit comes back for revenge.
Of course, it goes much deeper than that.
It's a great book for fans, and a good place for new readers to find the story. And I have a copy to give away.
For your chance to win, send your name and address to ehenrickson@detnews.com. Use "The Crow" as your subject line, and enter only once by Aug. 5. U.S. entries only.
